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A headhunter for the heart

Matchmaker says her biz has 'exploded'

Krystal Walter, owner of Krystal Walter Professional Matchmaking, in her home office in Sherwood Park, Ab. on Friday Apr. 5, 2013.

Photograph by: John Lucas
, Edmonton Journal

Krystal Walter decided to start her own matchmaking business after discovering a void in the marketplace - and in the hearts of Albertans.

"I wanted to do better than what is out there," Walter said. "From my own experiences, there is a huge need for it."

Walter, 31, spent years using online dating sites and paid an expensive and unsuccessful visit to a local matchmaker, resulting in a date with a doctor who she said she later discovered had a suspended medical licence.

Based on her dating experiences and the horror stories she heard from other singles, Walter was inspired to start her own Edmonton-based matchmaking company.

Krystal Walter Professional Matchmaking launched in September 2012 and started matching couples in January.

Business has "exploded," Walter said, with more than 250 singles signed up in Calgary and Edmonton. She has hired three part-time employees to keep up with demand while she balances her new business with a job in industrial real estate and the raising of her six-year-old son.

Matchmaking packages range in price, with different options available for men and women. Most women pay about $200 to $400 to be part of a database while men pay $500 to $5,000 for Walter to personally match them. Both men and women can choose either option and Walter does have a few female clients who pay more for extensive matching services.

Walter said an independent matchmaker offers a level of security and personal attention missing from online dating and other matchmaking businesses in Edmonton, which are often branches of bigger companies. Every client meets face-to-face with Walter for a two-hour interview and completes a background check.

"If anything, matchmakers will tell you the demand for their services has increased because of the popularity of online dating," said Maria Avgitidis, co-founder of the Matchmakers Alliance, a non-profit American organization for professionals in the dating industry to connect.

The alliance has 60 members, including eight Canadian matchmakers based in B.C. and Ontario. There is no similar Canadian organization.

"Lots of clients want their safety and privacy respected and would rather have someone else do the vetting for them," Avgitidis said.

Elizabeth MacInnis operated an independent matchmaking business in Edmonton for six years and said clients, especially women, sought a "safe alternative" to online dating. MacInnis charged clients $2,500 to $10,000 and regularly had more than 1,000 clients signed up in Calgary and Edmonton.

She sold her company last May, in part because she said she couldn't keep up with demand.

"The business grew too fast. I always wanted to keep it boutique," said MacInnis, who now works for a recruiting company.

"People look at you as someone who is going to save their love life. The more I grew, the harder it was to balance that."

Looking for love still leads many online, with a 2011 Leger Marketing survey reporting one-quarter of Canadians have taken part in Internet dating.

"It's becoming a more and more viable and accepted way of meeting," said Amanda Van Oort, a 25-year-old living in Edmonton who knows five couples who met online, including two couples who are now married.

But Van Oort describes her own experiences with online dating as "overwhelming and time consuming."

"It meant a barrage of different people in your email everyday," said Van Oort, who paid $35 a month to sign up with eHarmony.

There are a few reasons why people are willing to spend money to find a mate, said University of Alberta assistant professor Matthew Johnson, who studies romantic relationships.

"Seeking out a romantic partner is scary and you open yourself up for the potential for rejection. I think having a professional service to help you lowers the risks associated with finding the partner," Johnson said.

Whether it's through a computer screen or a matchmaker, professional services can provide more of a buffer, Johnson said.

Efficiency is another factor.

"The way these services are advertised, it seems like a very efficient way of finding a partner. Whereas if you do it the old-fashioned way, you have less of a guarantee that it's going to work out," Johnson said.

If the last few months are any indication, Walter's company makes a convincing business case for an old-school matchmaker.

Her initial business plan estimated the company would be worth $75,000 after a year, but if business continues at its current rate, Walter expects that number to be above $350,000.

Walter advertises her business through a website, Facebook page, Twitter account and though word of mouth, and hears from about five people a day interested in her services.

Once clients sign up, it takes anywhere from one to 14 weeks for Walter to match them, while most clients wait about a month.

Clients come from a variety of careers, range in age from mid-20s to late 50s and are an almost even split of men and women, Walter said.

Aside from a few online certificates and courses, there is no formal training or required path to become a headhunter for the heart. Walter believes her collection of bad dating experiences makes her a good matchmaker.

"I've always been a little obsessed with the whole dating industry and I always felt like in my mind I could do better," she said.

She is now looking to expand to Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray, and offer her services to gay and lesbian clients.

The challenge for Walter may be keeping her personal touch present as business grows, but for now she is focused on her current clients.

"People are trusting you with their time, their heart, their money," Walter said. "It's stressful but it's exciting and definitely rewarding."

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